After Andronikos I died in 1186, his son John ascended the throne as John III.
The empire that John III inherited was an empire full of problems. Andronikos' reconquest seemed brilliant, but in fact it created too many hidden dangers for the empire. All John III could do was to alleviate these problems as much as possible.
Hidden danger.
John III was a child who lived completely in the shadow of his father, which meant that his character could only be used as a framer, and the empire was indeed in urgent need of a framer.
There are three main problems in the current empire. The first is the acute class contradictions in the country. With the passing of Andronikos, the nobility and bureaucrats who had been suppressed and attacked have made a comeback. After all, although Andronikos attacked them, in reality
Many people came to Nadu for frivolous money, and the people also established organizations through Andronikos' movement, and confronted the aristocrats and bureaucrats tit for tat.
The society of the Eastern Empire is actually seriously divided now. Andronikos' movement in Constantinople can still barely target the contradictions against aristocrats, bureaucrats, wealthy businessmen and churches, but in the local areas, that is nothing
Everything has happened, but the persecuted people will never forget what happened.
Secondly, there is the huge army left by Andronikos. In southern Italy, Spain and North Africa, the number of the imperial standing army maintained reached 60,000. If you want to maintain such a huge army, you still have to fight overseas to provide the empire with
Financial expenditures pose huge challenges.
Not to mention that the empire's occupation of these lands essentially relies on the cooperation of local powerful and nobles. Now that Andronikos is dead, these people have begun to have other ideas. For example, in Spain, the Iberian Legion is almost every day.
Only by suppressing the Taifa lords can we ensure that the empire's rule in Spain will not fall apart.
This situation also exists in southern Italy, North Africa, Serbia and Croatia. It can be said that there is fire on all sides.
Finally, there is the sharp conflict with the Catholic world. The war between the Empire and the Catholic world caused heavy casualties to both sides, and the severance of trade caused everyone's income to drop sharply. In any case, this hostile state cannot continue.
As for Antioch, the local patriarch seized power by mistake, but the patriarch just wanted to wait for the results of the internal competition in the empire, and then who would obey whom in Constantinople.
The key to the arrival of the Age of Blood occurred in 1204. In this year, the Catholic world organized another crusade with the intention of retaking Jerusalem. This group of people came to the city of Constantinople under the leadership of the Venetians.
Just like in history, the Crusaders captured the city for the gentlemen, but then they left the Crusaders outside and were busy hunting down and massacring the supporters of the Commune of Constantinople in the city. In such a situation
Under the circumstances, the Crusaders, led by an old Venetian named Dandolo, captured the city.
The empire's rule collapsed first in Spain, then North Africa, and then southern Italy... In the thirteen years from 1187 to 1200, Andronica's success in reconquering continued to be lost, and groups of imperial troops fled back.
local.
It is for this reason that people call this era the Age of Blood, and blood and contempt have become the theme song of this era.
In the past 34 years, this land has experienced too much chaos. The war, which is much more intense than in the past, has made everyone frightened. Now peace has finally returned. While recalling this hard-won peace, in order to prevent
Chaos returned again, and the systematic burning of "Discussions on Ancient Political Forms" began, and the Catholic world also responded.
Together with the Latin Empire of the Crusaders, the four of them formed the four main players in the western part of the empire. However, this does not mean that the western part of the empire will be divided up by these four. In fact, their intertwined forces are filled with various small and medium-sized enterprises.
Power, aristocratic territory, theocracy, a republic...it has everything.
In short, the Age of Blood has officially begun at this moment.
It can be said that Andronikos was very lucky. He passed away at the peak of his career, and future generations must taste the bitter fruit.
In the same way, the east, like the west, also has countless small and medium-sized forces, and some of them even have people who claim to be emperors.
By allowing the Crusaders to pass through the empire, John III eased the conflict with the Catholic world, and trade was able to normalize. The last problem was solved, but the other two problems were not easy to solve.
In the Eastern Empire, the civilian bureaucrats of the empire, centered in Smyrna, built a civilian state. In their view, rather than handing over power to aristocratic emperors who relied on blood or to blind and fanatical people, it was better to let
They ruled, educated men who had climbed their way up the imperial bureaucracy, and of course, in order to gain legitimacy, they supported a puppet emperor.
The reunification of the empire was not so much achieved by the emperor's wise prowess as it was the 34 years of killing and chaos that made everyone tired, and even the most fanatical people could no longer be fanatical because of the flow of blood.
When they got up, the people were even more disgusted with killing.
Emperor Andronikos left behind many children and grandchildren. With so much suspicion surrounding the country, everyone was naturally ready to take action. How could the various political forces who had long wanted to usher in a new era miss this opportunity?
What about opportunities?
The four years from 1200 to 1204 can be called the most chaotic four years of the empire. In Constantinople, citizens and nobles were about to turn into open street fighting, while in the local areas, the activities of various forces and careerists became more and more frequent.
, crazily building momentum for himself, and even organizing a small-scale army in private.
The problems in the empire left by Andronikos are really too big. No matter what he does, he will offend many people, but there is no other way. He still has to continue to walk on this tightrope.
Although his head was lost, his health was still good, so all parties began to sing their praises, and the Age of Blood began.
But in the final analysis, this is the result of the seeds planted by Andronikos taking root and sprouting. His reconquest was too hasty, and the cost of the empire's rule in these recovered areas was too high. It is natural for this situation to occur.
They arrived very cleverly. At this time, the citizens of Constantinople launched an uprising. They expelled the nobles, officials and emperors, established the Commune of Constantinople, and announced that the former republic would be reestablished. Those who were driven out of the city
That side naturally took advantage of the arrival of the Crusaders and besieged Constantinople.
It was not until 1238 that Andronikos' direct descendants and legal heirs to the imperial throne regained Constantinople. This finally brought an end to the Age of Blood, and peace finally came.
As for the problem of army supply, this problem is really too big. Maintaining more than 60,000 standing troops fighting overseas for a long time has brought huge pressure to the entire empire. John III had to reduce this pressure, which led to the loss of territory and
Dissatisfaction among frontline troops.
The first one to appear is the Republic of Thessaloniki. As the second largest city in the Eastern Empire, this republic is of the same origin as the one in Constantinople. They rebuilt the system of the ancient republic and vowed to eradicate the nobility and rich people. They
It is the most popular faction and can be said to have supporters all over the empire.
Then came the Spartan Legion. The so-called Spartan Legion was an organization composed of troops who had fled back to the empire over the years. They had been placed in the Morea region by the imperial government, but gradually they also took over local power.
They admire the Spartan system and despise cities and urban life. They will even drive the citizens in the city outside the city walls to farm. In their view, the city is a burden and an existence that should be eliminated. At the same time, in order to ensure control
, they also built a tight political organization and internal militarization.
In Armenia, the local Armenian lords immediately began to rebel, and the chaotic era there was not relieved until the return of the Armenian Returning Army, composed of Armenian soldiers from the imperial army.
The Crusaders carried out a brutal massacre in this city. No matter what conflicts there were, they had to kill anyone who stood in the way. The killings were so bloody that everyone in the Eastern Empire was shocked to find that this person from the Eastern Empire was
His head was chopped off like this.
Then there is the Despot of Epirus, the fourth son of Andronikos. After the incident in Constantinople, he fled to Durachion, where he gained the local nobles.
support.
Andronikos' direct grandson and the orthodox heir to the imperial throne fled to Nicaea. Komnenos' hometowns such as Paphlagonia supported his rule, but Trabizon also supported his own rule.
An emperor.
Everyone gradually reached a consensus that instead of these political practices, it is better to pick up the old things, such as the rule of Andronikos. The era of Andronikos was once rejected by people for its endless wars and burdens.
But compared to what happened after his death, Andronikos's reign seemed so wise and mighty.
Faced with serious social divisions in the country, John III could only hold a shield like Solon to protect both sides. Therefore, he was opposed by both parties. The rational and neutral person was the most unpopular after all, but he still had to do so. If
If the contradiction and struggle between the two is allowed to develop, the empire left by Andronikos will undoubtedly be destroyed in his hands.
In order to prove that they are the orthodoxy of the empire, the fighting between the parties can be said to be extremely fierce. The conflict between power, ideology and hatred makes the war particularly cruel, and massacres become commonplace. Killing is like eating.
Drinking water is as normal as drinking water.
After John III came to power, he ordered the ban on this booklet, but unfortunately it has spread. Even though John III burned books day and night, he still could not stop its spread.
Even the Catholic world was affected by this chaos, and the chaotic ideology also caused war in the Catholic world. Although it was much smaller than the great melee in the Eastern Empire, it still frightened people.
The sudden collapse of the empire had a huge impact on the people. A few years ago, people were still immersed in the prospect of the empire's revival. As a result, the empire collapsed in the blink of an eye. The Latins marched into the capital, and the emperor was like
A crucian carp appears like a carp crossing the river, and various people take the stage with various names and slogans.
The last problem was the best one to solve. John III allowed the Crusaders to go to the Holy Land through the Eastern Empire. Of course, his decision caused a lot of opposition, but that's how the posters were.
However, what Andronikos left was not all pitfalls. The centralization of power combined with the theory of the Quietists gave John III strong legitimacy, allowing him to do many things without arousing opposition.
Some people would say that in the face of such huge changes, people can only go with the flow and do a series of things that even they cannot understand. But on the other hand, this also means that people are too sober and sober.
It scares people. The fear caused by the collapse of the country makes them only grasp the slogans around them and massacre those who "will definitely harm them" among the various slogans.
In addition to Andronikos' various actions, another very important reason that led to such serious social division was "Discussion of Ancient Political Forms". This book was popular throughout the empire during Andronikos' era, and the result was that
Opposition parties from all walks of life are seeking support from this book for doctrines that suit their interests.
John III, a paper framer, also became ill from overwork under tremendous pressure, and eventually died in an industrial job. With his death, an 8-year-old child sat on the imperial throne, which announced the unrest.
start.
Dandolo has an extremely strong hatred for the Eastern Empire. His brother and son died in the frenzy set off by Andronika. He wants revenge all the time, and now that the opportunity has fallen in front of him, he will naturally not miss it.
.
The continuous increase in killings has also generated strong boredom and opposition among people. People need a scapegoat to explain this era of killing and chaos, and "Discussion of Ancient Political Forms" is the first to bear the brunt, which also paved the way for its subsequent treatment.
bedding.
Throughout Christendom, possessing this book was once considered a crime. It became a work from hell, and even the slightest contamination would bring destruction.
But it is also because of this that when time passes, The Age of Blood and "Discussion on Ancient Political Forms" have become the focus of research among scholars around the world, because it can be said to be an important milestone in the formation of the modern world, and the discussion among the people has never stagnated.
Many people are wondering what kind of changes it will bring to the world if a non-monarchy faction comes to power.
But these were all rumors. At that time, people only cheered for the end of this bloody era, but what they didn't expect was that a wave of madness would come to the east soon...